everybody and every body is different. I have long legs, so prefer the steeper seattube. Puts my CoG more in the middle of the bike instead of the backwheel. I’m 188cm with 92cm inseam and ride a Epic8 size L with an 80mm stem - works perfectly for me. my fav XC loop is pedally and twisty - not much downhill and I don’t feel the bike isn’t up for it - it feels good to me.
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My 6 month review of Flight Attendant.
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Love the red sid
Any word on spec 2.5 captain?
Perhaps I stand corrected on the saddle position thing.
That’s absurd!
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@Neuromancer The stems not playing either!!
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It’s not unusual for guys sticking with rigid posts to have extreme saddle setbacks. People do this to get the saddle put of the way on the descents.
A prime example of this is Luca Schwarzbauer. He had one of the weirdest fit in the XC WC circuit, very low saddle and lots and lots of setback. He’s been seen this preseason riding with a dropper and suddenly his fit looks a lot more conventional (eyeballing obviously)
Wouldn’t an extreme setback make the saddle more in the way on descents?
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I think Luka may have finally gotten a good bike fit. He looked like he was sitting really low the last couple of seasons.
The saddle in the more modern forward position constantly hits your tights in the descents. This is reported by various athletes, and dropper posts are one of the innovations that allowed steep seat tube angles in MTB.
My personal experience also reflected this. I rode with a rigid post in my hardtail to try to simplify the bike during 2024. However, as my bike fit progressed into a more forward saddle position, it started to become unmanageable in the descents, with constant tigh contact
I haven’t ridden a MTB without a dropper in a long time, I’ll take your word for it.
I know on my gravel bike (where I’m often reaching for the non-existent dropper button), I’m definitely getting hung up on my saddle at times. But when that happens, I’m typically going down a steep section and getting my butt back over the rear wheel, so the further back the saddle is, the more it’s in the way. We hit some singletrack on the gravel bikes yesterday in wet conditions, nothing technical but was still reaching for the dropper a couple times. I just need to bite the bullet and put one on the gravel bike. I’ve got AXS shifters on 1x drivetrain, so wouldn’t even need to have a remote for an AXS dropper.
Good point. Saddle noses are getting shorter too, which benefits clearance also?
If the bike stays perfectly upright, there’s room between the legs for the seat. The real freedom comes as the bike is laid over during turns; the body can stay centered above.
What a weird placement for the battery
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Great marketing strategy to push everyone back to cable droppers? 
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Agree. First I’ve seen or heard of this.
Does anyone know if that’s actually a new design for the AXS dropper or just speculation? I could see moving the battery down the post to allow a new lighter design, but why put it out front when it could be in the rear? Maybe less mud, etc. on the battery, but those things are pretty mud proof in my experience. The only thing I don’t like about the current battery placement is that you can’t store anything on the underside of your seat (tube, co2’s etc.).
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Also, looks there are new SRAM brakes incoming.
Thanks, much better shots. I hope they shaved a bit of weight with that new design, not so sure about having the battery so exposed. Nothing should be hitting it with normal riding, but I could see that thing taking an impact in a wreck.
I like that they have gone to a more traditional dust seal/spring on the dropper. I’ve had the threaded collar on my current AXS dropper come loose and get some crap in it and scratched the post a bit before I realized it was loose.
